2013 Commando 961 – Difficult shifting, false neutrals, rattling noise, and broken pieces found in primary case

cliffa · 2026-07-24T07:40:03-0600

Jansen said:
The thing is; I have some poor welts, and the picture you referring to have some decent steel plates in the slots. my slots are empty and filled on one side with some poor welds.

Agreed, they look very poor welds, which is why I think a complete replacement is a better ( and safer) option.

Stephen_Spencer · 2026-07-24T07:42:34-0600

We had a brief intervention from an ex Norton employee called Nicoli (from memory) a few years ago. He challenged those that were welding rivets in place or modifying spring pockets by welding. He stated that the material was not suitable for welding - ‘you have been warned’ was his caveat on welding in this area.

I’ll report back on the my recent spares purchase. Replacement looks like the best option to me but no doubt a repair could be effected - depending on available expertise.

cliffa · 2026-07-24T10:03:31-0600

@Jansen , I just had a closer look at one of the photos you sent, and it look as though one of the springs has been caught by the welder and partly burned through ? (maybe its an optical illusion).

TonyA · 2026-07-24T11:21:46-0600

cliffa said:
@Jansen , I just had a closer look at one of the photos you sent, and it look as though one of the springs has been caught by the welder and partly burned through ? (maybe its an optical illusion).

View attachment 125662

A welded spring is not good. !

Jansen · 2026-07-24T11:26:02-0600

cliffa said:
@Jansen , I just had a closer look at one of the photos you sent, and it look as though one of the springs has been caught by the welder and partly burned through ? (maybe its an optical illusion).

View attachment 125662

Yes Thats true. Something I have noticed aswell. The more I look at my basket, the less comfortable I am with the welding that has been done around these spring pockets. Especially now knowing that welding/modifying this area may not have been recommended in the first place.

Pretty bizarre and very dissapointing to be honest. Been looking for years to have a Commando, definitely hasn’t been the best start these past 3 months lmao.

cliffa · 2026-07-24T11:39:41-0600

Jansen said:
Yes Thats true. Something I have noticed aswell. The more I look at my basket, the less comfortable I am with the welding that has been done around these spring pockets. Especially now knowing that welding/modifying this area may not have been recommended in the first place.

Pretty bizarre and very dissapointing to be honest. Been looking for years to have a Commando, definitely hasn’t been the best start these past 3 months lmao.

Don't give up. they are pretty sound machines at heart, but let down by poor assembly in some cases, and lack of funds to develop them properly.

Jansen · 2026-07-24T11:50:07-0600

cliffa said:
Don't give up. they are pretty sound machines at heart, but let down by poor assembly in some cases, and lack of funds to develop them properly.

Nah never give up. Curious of its easy to get a new basket to the Netherlands. Definitely want to order one and going to look what other upgrades I can do while im at it. But need Some help with that. I guess going through the thread “new to 961” is a good start?

cliffa · 2026-07-24T11:59:23-0600

Jansen said:
Nah never give up. Curious of its easy to get a new basket to the Netherlands. Definitely want to order one and going to look what other upgrades I can do while im at it. But need Some help with that. I guess going through the thread “new to 961” is a good start?

Not as easy since Brexit unfortunately, but still doable. What other issues have you had in the past months? My bike is a 2011, and still has the original relays and sensors as far as I can tell. One thing I would suggest, is to carefully inspect the wheel hubs, as the early bikes hubs are prone to cracking at the spoke towers.

Jansen · 2026-07-24T12:12:33-0600

cliffa said:
Not as easy since Brexit unfortunately, but still doable. What other issues have you had in the past months? My bike is a 2011, and still has the original relays and sensors as far as I can tell. One thing I would suggest, is to carefully inspect the wheel hubs, as the early bikes hubs are prone to cracking at the spoke towers.

a month after i got it, it sometimes stops running after i come down to first and stopping. then i have to restart the bike again.

i also had some battery problems, but that can happen but was unfortunate.

Only after I bought the bike I realized that I have an EVAP canister. Thinking about removing it.

And I would like to have a little bit more sound out of the bike. I can get a new exhaust plus ecu from a belgian guy who used to have a norton dealership in belgium. A BSA dealership near me can hook me up, they are both involved in competitative classic racing.

cliffa · 2026-07-24T13:18:34-0600

Jansen said:
a month after i got it, it sometimes stops running after i come down to first and stopping. then i have to restart the bike again.

i also had some battery problems, but that can happen but was unfortunate.

Only after I bought the bike I realized that I have an EVAP canister. Thinking about removing it.

And I would like to have a little bit more sound out of the bike. I can get a new exhaust plus ecu from a belgian guy who used to have a norton dealership in belgium. A BSA dealership near me can hook me up, they are both involved in competitative classic racing.

Check the Idle air control valve (IAC) for operation, clean if needed, and make sure the downstream hoses have clips on them.
The speedometer is known to cause a drain on the battery. I installed an isolator switch on mine, but pulling a fuse also works.
Bin the EVAP, but block the manifold spigots.